Bottle labeler with neck



Feb. 14, 1950' P. 1.. CHELLE 7,34

BOTTLE LABELER WITH NECK LABEL GAUGE Filed Feb. 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 14, 1950 P. CHELLE 2,497,344

BOTTLE LABELER WITH NECK LABEL GAUGE Filed Feb. 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 swam bow Feb. 14, 1950 P. L. CHELLE 2,497,344

BOTTLE LABELER WITH NECK LABEL GAUGE Filed Feb. 14, 1946 4-SheetsSheet 3 67 6'6 66 /0e 3 1; '1 1:: I. l /07 /2 [on 7 M5 6- I M 2 /O6 -I o 69 'ECLZIIII Feb 14, 1950 p. L. CHELLE 2,497,344

BOTTLE LABELER WITH NECK LABEL GAUGE Filed Feb. 14, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE "BOTTLE LABELER WITH NECK LABEL GAUGE Paul Louis Chelle, Paris, France Application February 14, 1946, Serial No. 647,563

In FranceJunle 10, 1943 Section 1, Public Law 690, August s, 1946 i Patent expires June 10, 1963 6 Claims; .(c1. 216-13)- The present invention relates 'to a bottle labeller with neck label gauge, provided with an endless chain with plates for supporting bottles or other objects of similar form, for instance, of cylindrical form. Said chain which acts as conveyor, moves intermittently or by jerks and the two flights thereof, serving the-one for feeding and bottles, are situated parallel in one given horizontal plane a short distance apart. The main object of the inventionis to provide, in a labeller of the character described, the labelling m'echanism designed ina manner to label each bottle during its passage from the feeding-portion to i the delivery portion "of the conveyor, by means of a pusher adapted to laterally slide or push a side to the other of the conveyor I bottle from one during intervals when said conveyor is atrest.

'In order to permit one flight to the other of object of the invention is to the conveyor, another the other for removal of the this transverse passage from provide, in a labeller of the character described, holding'back pieces or shields, carried by wards the interior of the endless chain being straight and perpendicular to this chain.

Another object of the invention is to provide; in a labeller of the character described, an auxiliary labelling mechanism acting in synchronism with the principal labelling mechanism and permitting to apply to or a guarantee band bestriding theneck of the bottle, this auxiliary mechanism being driven in a manner to correctly apply the stamp or the band, whatever the height of the bottles. For thispurpose, the 'gummers label are carried placed, through the action of a feeler member, at a fixed vertical distance from the end of the neck of the bottle.

The following description taken with the acthe neck of the'bottle a stamp for pasting the small by a sliding device which is the blades of the chain; having an unsymmetrical form, similar to an" inverted J, the branch of which is orientedto-t the movements of companying drawings shows a non-limiting example, and will make apparent how is to be performed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 represents the invention the assembly of the machine taken in vertical section taken on the line I-I of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line II-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows in plan the pusher plate at the a bottle.

endlof the operation'of labelling of 5 Figure 4 shows a section on the line IV'-IV of.

the bracket.

Figure 1, illustrating the mechanism causing p motion and locking of the conveyor.

Figures 5 and 6 show in profile and in eleva-" tion the gummers for pasting.

Figure '7 is a section taken on the line VIL-VII of Figure 6.

Figure 8 shows in profile the position of the gummers and of the holding member of the labels at the beginning of the labelling cycle.

Figure 9 shows the applying of a label over the neck of the bottle. Figure 10 is a'view similar showing the end of the applying of the labels and omitting the slide, the spring thereof and Figure 11 shows in v rolling the label around the neck of the bottle.

Figures Hand 13 smoothing a label bestriding the neck, respectively at the beginning and at the end of the applying of said label;

Figure 14 shows a detail of Figure 12. Figure 15 shows the smoothing device Referring to the be seen in Figures 1 and 2, the assembly of the various mechanisms of the machine and of their control members is carried on a table I pro-" and resting on vided with a shallow margin 2 two vertical supports 3, 3a. Within these supports are positioned the bearings of a cam shaft 4 which is driven by an electric motor, not

shown, through a belt and a speed reducer. All

are controlled from this cam shaft 4.

Above the upper part of the table I there moves a conveyor positioned in a horizontal plane and consisting of a chain on the links of which are fixed hexagonal blades 5, permitting the chain to adapt itself to the curvature of horizontal sprocket wheels 6, 1, of. which the second serves to drive the chain with an intermittent movement. This intermittent motion isobta'ined by means of a cam 8 carried by the shaftl with which cooperates a runner 9 (Figs. 2 and 4) terminally carried on a lever In which pivots about a vertical fixed spindle II and the other end of which carries a pawl l2 acting on a ratchet wheel [3 rigid with the vertical shaft of the sprocket wheel I. On the same shaft is carried a locking plate l5 provided with notches it for being engaged by a latch l1 pivoted at 22 and controlled and actuated by the cam 18 keyed on the shaft 4, through a rod system comprisinga lever 19 with runner .20 and a bestridin to Figure 8 but" plan the mechanism for I show in profile the device for the control mechanism of illustrated in Figures 12-14. drawings in detail, as will the machine without exception rod 2|. The cams 8 and l8 are so shaped that the locking plate l will be locked during the intervals of time when the pawl i2 is inactive, and conversely, that the plate should be free to move during the other intervals to permit the pawl I 2 to produce the intermittent advance of the conveyor.

The bottles to be labelled pass in file in the direction of the arrow I along the inner flight of the conveyor; the labelling operation/occurs during the passage of a bottle transversely from the interior flight or feeding flight to theexterior flight or removal flight as shown by ar row f (Fig. 2), then the bottles-. are removed ona;

this removal flight in the direction of the are row f (Fig. 2). On the conveyor the bottles are held in a manner known perse by shields 23 which are provided on every third-blade 5,

for example. However, the symmetrical form; of the known shields would not permit the transverse.slidinghmovementof the. bottlesshown at v f perpendicularly, to .th'etwo .fiights .of, the .cone veyor. According'tolthe: present invention, this efiect is obtained by, giving .the. shields. 23 an unsymmetrica1 form, similar. .to that of. an, inverted J, the branch 23d of which is turned in either flightlof. theeconveyor toward the other fiightof ,thenchain, being straight and perpendicular to the-directions .of displacement shown, at. f and J The transverse translation movement shown at ,f /during which the..,bottle slides .onthe blade 5 ofthe conveyorand ionafixed plate 24, is.pro-,-

duced by pusherHpI'ateL-Or ejector 25 fixed'to a horizontal sliding plate 26 which is guided by a fixed slideZ'L- The-reciprocating movement of thev sliding,

plate 26lislproducedbya cam 28, through a lever 29 which pivots about a. fixed horizontal shaft 30 and zwhichds hinged by means of a stud 3|, sliding in a slot provided at the backiend of the sliding plate 26,; .the lever 29. carries a runner 3T During i :transverse translation movement shown aft-i ejector 251s .heldfromtheothereside-by a retain-v ingmember- 34 fixed at the: end of-a bent sliding p ate :35lwhich is guided in. the slide 21. bent .sliding:;plate 35,.is controlled by cam 36.- and;

tantly against the cam 28 a similar rod s'ystem' to that. of;.- the sliding; plate.- 26;-

The gummers; 31: for pasting :ofth'e main bodylabelsE; are .pivotally mounted ;on:para1lel shafts 1 38, 38 (Fig. filcarried by-a supportgfifiimounted on the end of .:an,-::arm1,39 which swings-about a fixed horizontalsha-ft 40 under the action of-a camJlI on .arunner 342, ,through a;lever, 43 pivoted at 44 andiasmallrod 145.? In oneyoftheextreme,swin ingpositions, of arm z39:y(represented by full lines: inzFigi; 1) the :gummerst l, are in; a-vertical plane between thefixed brushes 89=acting;for smoothing 1511631112111 body.- labelled, between thatwo fiightsiofxthe conveyory in; the other: extreme. lin'esiin Fi'gsrl): the gummers'are llftedagainst the box-:likeJ-labeleholder 46.;- I 1 During; their upward ,1 stroke, the *gummers '23 1. receive pastes-while passing. in contact; with the applying roller-:Mrof a conventional pasting de-- vice. which comprises astationary-paste contain er '3 48,; mounted- ::on-: a' platform 6 I. paste transferaroller and :a' the gapplyingerollen 41", and the. movement of... which :ar-ound. a .fixed horizontal shaft: 5 l. iS pIQ-.

thebottle pushed on one.- sides by :position (shown ,by. dotted. b5: 1

label ;on :the bottlewhich is-being ;of the frame, a leverr5B icarryingg ported by the platform 6|. i-ithi's holder; 5 6: 'is' produced by 1 abutment :18 0.. In 3 the.

duced by cam 52 through a runner 53, a lever 54, and a rod 55. The paste transfer roller rotates continuously by means of a sprocket wheel 58 keyed on the cam shaft 4, controlling an endless chain 51, which engages a sprocket wheel 58 controlling an endless-chain' 59.\

The box-like 'label holder" 46' pivots about a fixed horizontal axis 60 carried by a bracket sup- The movement of a cam 62 through a runner, a lever 64 and a rod 65.

Besides theapplying of the main body label, the machine provided with means for applying a- .neck llabel.orjalz guarantee band bestriding For this purpose, the support 66 comprises .two slides wherein can slide two sliding rodsiBliifi'lffwhich are parallel to the shaft 38 and are carried in a cross member 68. This latter 'carries":.. a bulging stop 69 acting as feeler and which, when abutting against the neck of the bottle-.-to be labelled adjusts-with; relationtothis neck the; (position of; 1. theauxiliary y-gummers. Said'auxiliary gummers comprise two gumm-ers, 10.-

(Fig; 5)v which can.-pi vot about the lower end of-,: therodBL; and a:eentraL-uppen lmmer H which).- is fixedly carried bythe crossmember 168." The:

gummers branch of neck of the-bottle, the gummera-l I i over said neck onthe;,other;side-thereof; The;

pasting surfaces (of; the in the samewgiven vertic chine-isiatrest.

J ust-asthe mainrbody-label is held against the bottle by :the uretainingmember 12; (Fig. 10): which is;.-;priorto applyingthelabels 34,-; the stamp or: the. first part.- of; theaguaranteenband is held 1 against :the neck'iofithe; bottlez by a pusher plate 9:

o:the;.-bottle;'-:-in the same givenxvertical plane the retaining member 34?, in ,-fr 'ont ofithegummer 10 (Fig. 8) but which isvthen elastically appliedw, against: the; neckaeofa: the lbottle rby' shiftingpwith a reference to the retaining. memben 34 taking accountfoft-theiprofile'of'the .bottleuiFig'. 10). For: this purpose-the: pusher plate 12. is; fixed ;to the.

end of a rodl3 ingjmember 8 l, .to;;a-1le,ver; .15 which v pivots at-1,76

pivoted on ;a shaft 14, by a carry- 4 on a support-:11 which is; integral with the. bent'i;

S ng plate-1 355 A'rsll n 519 constantly tends to apply. thelever-15 against-anv adjustable labutment 18,1.an'daspring. which :is wound around;-

the articulation :shaiti' ply: a .IlOSBgOfJ the carcarryingmember. 8 l3 r141 constantlyntends to ap-1= .in'g. member; 181; againstfan position ;,ofFigure-- ,8,1:this is :heldby; a fixed abutmentr;

of -spI ing-,; 19,- to .maintain. the against gummers 10.

which :is. movablealong; the length of rod 13 and i; which is constantly urged by a spring 86' towards;

the stamp,

the carrying member 8| (Fig. 11)... To this sliding member; there-ware. symmetrically joined two quires-the lever 15 to ,swing against-the; action tpusher plate 12-1;

small levers 81-, acting-,as;-pincers,- each. one ter. 70j-5I'I1inati3d by a rubber wiper 88 and reachoneucan-i rying arunner 88w which cooperates with a ramp 90 theiluppenend' fil'roirthea'lever l5 isJQined a knee and is integral with carryingrmembergfllp To? lever :92, one arm, of. which: cooperates with a-e mi fixedframp .932 whichrisrintegral-ewitha a bracket 94 of the pillar as and the other .arm.:of.which acts; on the sliding member 84.

Figure 13 shows that'at the end of the labelling l pushed I action of ramps 90, so that the neck ofthe bottle B passes between the wipers 88 which thus smoothes the stamp"-T-'*around the neck of the bottle. 1

When it is necessary to apply the guaraiteflthe neck of the bottle,- the band G bestriding guarantee band is distributed by the box-like label holder at the same time on the gummer II and on the pivoting gummers (Figs. 6 and 8). The neck of the bottle B (Fig. 8) first takes up from the gummers 10 the first branch of the guarantee band which is then held by the pusher plate 12 while the rest of the guarantee band G slides along the length of the gummer II (Fig. 9) to then fall back on the neck of the bottle by virtue of its own weight (Fig. 10). At this moment there comes into play a smoothing arrangement actuated in the following manner.

Along the length of the pillar 83 a slider 90a can slide which is constantly urged by a spring 9Ia upwards against a fixed abutment 92a (Fig. 14). This slider is controlled (Fig. 15) by a cam 93a through the means of a rod 94a, a lever 95 and a rod 96 engaged by a slot 91 with a stud 93 of The operationof the machine thus constituted will be clearly apparent fromvthe preceding description. It will be seen that the stamp Tor the guarantee band G is always, through .the

automatic adjusting efiect with the aid of feeler.

member BIL-positioned at a fixed determined distance from the end of the neck of the bottles,

whatever may be the individual differences in height-"of the bottles.

I claim:

l'.j-In a bottle labeller,- a pair of drive wheels,

a pair of ertical pivot means for mounting said" wheels respectively, an endless chain passing said chain, pushing means for releasing bottles the slider 90a. To the fixed abutment 92a there is attached a ramp 99 which itself carries at its lower end an inverted ramp I00, fixed in adjustable manner. A lever IOI terminated by a smoothing roller I02 is pivoted on horizontal shaft I03 carried by slider 90a, its lower end carries roller I04 which cooperates with ramps 99 and I00. In the position shown in Figure 12 (prior to labelling),

the slider 90a is lifted by spring 9Ia and the lever IOI is raised by ramp 99. At the end of the labelling operation (Fig. 13), the cam 93a lowers the slider 90 and the ramp 99 permits the roller I02 to be applied against the neck of the bottle of which it follows the profile; after this operation the ramp I00 again raises the lever IOI to permit the disengagement of the bottle and its removal by the conveyor.

In order to maintain the band G straight while it slides on the gummer II (Fig. 9), there are provided on the cross member 69, on either side of this gummer, two retractable guiding fingers I05 pivoted around shafts I06 and which are constantly urged by springs I01 to be retracted with relation to the pasting surface of gummer II, by applying them against the abutments I08. When the feeler member 69 is not applied against a bottle, and particularly when lever 39 moves upwards towards the box-like label holder 46, the cross member 68 is pushed back against the gummer 31 by a spring I09, until the upper cross member IIO, which connects together the sliding rods 61, comes into engagement against the support 66. The spring I01 acts to produce the retraction of finger I05. On the contrary, when the ieeler member 69 is positioned against a bottle B (Fig. 5), a lever II I pivoted on the cross member 68 engages an abutment IIZ provided on the arm 39 and, through the action of a small rod I I3 which couples the fingers I05 to the lever III, it causes the fingers I05 to pivot in such a manner as to project them out on the pasting surface of the gummer H, in order to hold the band G.

carried by a first one of said fiights from said flight and pushing the same through a labelling position located between the two flights of said chain to engagement with the second one of said flights, means for actuating said pushing means during the interval when said chain is immobile under said intermittent drive, principal labelling means adapted to apply a main body-label to the body of the bottle when said bottle is located in said labelling position between the two flights of said chain, means for operating said principal labelling means and means for controlling said intermittent drive means, said actuating means and said operating means strictly sequentially in timed order.

2. A bottle labeller according to claim 1, said bottle engaging means comprising unsymmetrical shields, similar to an inverted J, having their legs on the inside of said chain substantially perpendicular thereto.

3. A labelling machine according to claim 1 and auxiliary labelling means positioned to apply a neck label to theneck of a bottle while said bottle is being translated between saidfiights by said pushing means and comprising auxiliary gummers, and positioning ieeler means engageable with the neck of a bottle and adapted to position said auxiliary gummers according to the height and contour of a bottle to be neck labeled.

4. A labelling machine according to claim 1, and auxiliary labelling means positioned to apply a neck label to the neck of a bottle While said bottle is being translated between said flights by said pushing means and comprising auxiliary gummers, and positioning feeler means engageable with the neck of a bottle and adapted to position said auxiliary gummers according to the height and contour of the neck of a bottle to be neck labelled, said auxiliary gummers of said auxiliary labelling means being actuated by the actuating means of said principal labelling means.

5. A labelling machine according to claim 1, and auxiliary labelling means positioned to apply a neck label to the neck of a bottle while said bottle is being translated between said flights by said pushing means and comprising auxiliary gummers, and positioning feeler means engageable with the neck of a bottle and adapted to position said auxiliary gummers according to the height and contour of the neck of a bottle to be neck labeled, said auxiliary labelling means comprising resilient pincers, adapted to apply said neck label to the neck of a bottle, and means driven by said drive means for separating the being positioned with its ..tw'o"fli'g-hts"in substantially the same horizontal necksilabel provided v\withxtwo branches fonbest; 5

riding the neck .ofiahottle while saidi'bottle-nisn being translated between said..fiights;;by said pushing; :means:- and; comprisin r main ..;;au.xi1-iar gummers actuated by the operating. zmeans-; ofr,;

said principal labelling means for applyingzipne 10 K branchof said neckslabel on one side ;of the neck of 5 a bottle, positioningialer; means ;engageab1e with said neck and adaptednto position said main auxiliary gummers-according-to .the height and.

contour of the neck-of a bottleetovbe bestriding1y, 3"

neck''la belediand asecondary-auxiliarynecklabel gummer carried by said feelenmeans for applyingk-ztlx'eaother branch of" said neck :label on the other side ofi saidneckil PAUL LOUIS .CHELLE.:

REFERENCES CITED The *fdllo'wing; references are of recordin the Number Name Date 13673496 Harders V Jan-11, 1916 1,673,091 I Risser June 12; 1928 

